Visual symphony at T3

Delhi’s new international airport terminal presents a unique Indian impression to global travellers, writes Annie Samson

Once past the security area, visitors are greeted by massive windows, which frame the white aerobridges that sport design motifs such as a temple gopuram, folk art motif and a kathakali dancer

Satish Gupta’s copper and gold-plated Surya sculpture symbolises the strength and power of India Photos: Mukesh Aggarwal

From caparisoned elephants carved in sandalwood to spice packets that can fit in your pocket, from special multi-hued granite floors to walls adorned with giant mural art depicting every corner of the country, the new international airport terminal here offers travellers a best slice of India.

Spread over 5.4 million square feet, the swish new terminal building, said to be the world’s sixth largest, sports a visual vocabulary merging international design elements to present a unique Indian impression, especially to international travellers.

"Visitors often get their first impression of the country when they walk in through the airport. We have tried to present a very strong Indian identity to passengers for whom the airport is a gateway to the country," says Amit Gulati, director, Incubis —the design consultants for the airport.

Once past the security area of the New Delhi International Airport, visitors are greeted by massive windows which frame the white aerobridges that sport design motifs such as a temple gopuram and a kathakali dancer.

An installation of 24 dance mudras with discs frame the canyon area across the international and domestic areas.

"Executed by local sculptures in Jaipur, we chose the mudras as it is a very secular symbol of peaceful intent. It encompasses all the dance forms found in India," says Gulati, who adds that the aluminium discs have been handspun in a Moradabad factory.

To convey a sense of the ancient markets in India, a "Delhi Bazaar" would showcase merchandise from all across the country. "We hope to provide travellers a sense of the bazaar ambience like the Chandni Chowk area in Delhi with a blanket of almost all consumables." says Monisha Gupta of the luxury lifestyle store Craft House.

"We have laddoos and other traditional savouries, small spice boxes, incense and spa products, a large variety of teas, Tanjore paintings, Pashmina scarves, sandalwood and lac carved statues of Lord Ganesha offering both exotic and contemporary products," says Gupta.

Occupying 4,000 square foot area, the store is divided into 10 shops each with a large gate entrance, a painted auto converted into a gandola and a spa area covered up with bamboo fence.

Also, as the airport opens soon, travellers would be walking on special granite floors. "Most visitors usually look down while travelling and what they notice are the floors. I have used three varieties of tiles all over the airport. These are mined and processed in Bahrain and are resistant to moisture salt or air pollution," says Kanika Dewan, President, Bramco Group, which did 1,10,000 sq m of granite flooring.

"Also we have a special propriety mix to get rid of pan masala and other stains to ensure the floors are always gleaming. After all, the airport being a point of first and last contact to India for travellers, they should take back good memories," says Dewan, who was commissioned by the GMR and DIAL to handle all the stonework design and installation for the flooring, the lifts and the lobby areas.

Moving on to the walls, two monumental works by contemporary artist Paresh Maity are spread across the international and domestic arrivals baggage counters.

The first painting, "The Indian Odyssey", measuring 7 by 800 feet, comprises 53 panels. Starting from Bengal, it spreads across Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and few other regions.

The second mural "Celebration", sized 6 feet 2 inches by 62 feet is made up of five panels portraying the music, culture, dances and festivities across India.

Delhi artist Satish Gupta’s 4m high copper and gold-plated Surya sculpture symbolising the "strength and power of India" towers over passengers at the pier of the international departure area. "It represents the iconic head of Surya looking at the rising sun. It could also mean the strong emerging force of India in the global era", says Gupta, who began working on the installation a year ago. A large 30 m long mural by artist Seema Kohli, which talks about the genesis, is in the process of completion.

"It is a very rich and very detailed multi-panel artwork. Five panels are already up. This is a teaser for what is yet to come," says Gulati, adding that talks are on with other artists and sculptors.

"The idea is to form a collaborative process with local and other artists so that visitors get to look at an expression that goes beyond the clich`E9 image of India filled with snake charmers and cows," says Gulati.

Apart from art, a variety of indoor exotic plants some of them imported grace the swanking new state of the art terminal building. — PTI